Love The Skin You’re In: The Treasures In Redefining Your Own Beauty

Self-love is such a big topic these days and as I began to write, I thought it would be something that would be easy to talk about.

I thought I could slap a few tips on this article and it would make us all happy. As I thought more deeply about this, I’m realizing that self-love is a lot more complex than we think and not as close as we’d like it to be.

I realized I owed it to myself to make this as sincere as possible. Our generation has a way of disarming one’s confidence and exposing flaws like I’ve never seen before.

We meme someone every chance we get. And now, thanks to Instagram, we can zoom in and critique every photo that’s posted.

Just trying to find something to point out that a particular individual is not perfect.

Unfortunately, there will likely be a day where you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of this criticism. So much so that you’ll inevitably begin to criticize yourself.

Comparing and nitpicking every little thing that you don’t like about yourself becomes a part of your routine.

Insecurity is at an all time high as a result of these comparisons. The moment we post a photo, we’re checking back to see how many likes we got as if it fills some sort of emotional void or controls our confidence.

That is, until we realize that it does.

We feel the pressure to be fit, stylish, prosperous, and basically perfect. Oh, and let’s not forget that this all needs to happen by some ridiculously young age that we’ve all set for ourselves.

Like, come on. How unrealistic is that? We have succumbed to these clearly irrational pressures in life. Learning to love your own features, quirks, and spirit should be something simple for us to do.

There are treasures in getting to know and love yourself especially as we grow older.

The beauty is in expressing yourself, just by being you. I’m not saying it’s easy, because we all have those bad hair days along with the days where that pimple pops up in the not-so-perfect place.

I’m just saying that social media and these unreal expectations have definitely made it more complicated than it needs to be.

With two younger sisters I’d hate for this downward spiral of self-esteem and confidence, that we all deserve to have, to continue or get worse.

We need to remind ourselves that competing for fabricated levels of beauty and ‘perfection’ will not make us happier. All it will do, is make us the same as everyone else.

Who wants that? Find the beauty in your individuality and what makes you different.

Build on your uniqueness. Increase your confidence. Those with a higher confidence are known to have lower levels of anxiety and depression.

They also question themselves less, and therefore make decisions with more security.

As I write all of this, I not only feel like I’m saying it to the reader, but to myself as well.

Ultimately the message that I’d like for everyone to receive from this is that comparing yourself to others is just not it.

There are treasures in re-defining what beauty means for yourself and for others.

One of my favorite quotes, from Frida Kahlo, reads:

“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me, too. Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you.”

Learning that beauty is more than just skin deep is essential. It’s not all about the superficial expectations in this world.

Let’s pay more attention to the development and progression of our character as we grow older and wiser in order to create a better you.

Kim is your not-so-average millennial. Living on both sides of the spectrum, she works creatively in Fashion, and Finance. Kim holds a BBA and is now pursuing her MBA while balancing a healthy self-fulfilling lifestyle and traveling the world for inspiration.